Trent
Local mime artist Trent Arterberry is preparing to tell the facinating journey of his career in show-business through a performance at this year’s Victoria Fringe Festival.
“Most of the work I’ve done over the last 20 years has been for kids, so I wanted to see if I could do a show that could resignate with adults,” said Arterberry.
Arterberry’s performance, The Great Pretener: Autobiography of a Faker, will run six different times in the Downtown Activity Center in Victoria from August 25th to September 2nd.
“It’s a story about trying to make it in show biz and a story about being young and getting old,” said Arterberry. “It’s a story about my life but I’m hoping a lot of people will see things from their own life reflected in it.”
The show will follow Arterberry through the ups and downs in his career during the 45 years of touring across the continents. His act is very diverse as it combines traditional miming with a narritive dialogue, and many sound effects.
“It will be very funny, and hopefully it will be touching at points,” he said.
Arterberry first started miming at the age of 18 while in his first year of studying pre-med in college. He found his passion by watching mime artists such Marcel Marceau and was so intrigued, he decided to pursue it as a career.
“I remember watching these famous mimes and being amazed at how much could be communicated without saying anything,” he explained. “Someone like Marceau elevated it to such a beautiful artform that it was really inspiring.”
From then on Arterberry has spent his life performing anywhere from college campuses, schools, special events, to opening for major recording stars such as Julio Iglasias, BB King and the Kinks.
“I am a very visual and kinesthetic person so I relate to the movement and I enjoy the illusion of miming,” said Arterberry. “The body illusion really tickels me. There’s just an elliquence about movement and charmingness about acting something out.”
Arterburry explained that he got involved with the Fringe Festival because he enjoys performing in a theatre setting. He has also performed at other Fringe’s in Vancouver and Toronto.
“So many of my gigs are just a one time thing. You go in, set up, do the show, tear it down and leave, and half of your energy will go in to the travelling, set up and tear down. But when you can park in a theatre and run the show, you have so much extra energy to put in to the performance, and between shows I have time to work on things and make them better.”
Tickets to the performance cost $11 for adults and $9 for students and can be purchased at the door, or in advance online at ticketrocket.co, or at the Intrepid Theatre Box Office on Blanshard St. For more information on the Victoria Fringe Festival, visit their website at intrepidtheatre.com.
